Brake-beam



(No Model.) I 0 H. B. ROBISC HUNG. BRAKE BEAM.

No. 605,800. Patented June 14,1898.

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UNITED STATES PATE T FFICE.

HENRY B. ROBISCI-IUNGQ OF KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR, TO THE CHICAGO RAILl/VAY EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

\ BRAKE-BEAM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 605,800, dated June 14, 1898.

' Application filed July 22,1896. $erial N0. 600,135. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern" Be itknown that I, HENRY B. RoBIsoHUNe, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kalamazoo, in the county of Kalamazoo, State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Brake-Beams; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figurel'is a perspective View of a blank of sheet-steel used inthe manufacture of the compression member of the beam. Fig. 2 is apposition.

notches registering and the parallel edges in Fig. .5 is a perspective view of the beam complete, excepting thatthe brakehead on the left of the figure has been omitted to more clearly show the object of the slot formed by the notches in the blank.

Like symbols referto like parts wherever they occur.

My invention relates to the construction of truss edhollowbrake-beams, and has for its object to secure greater strength and stiff ness inthe compression member of the beam for a given diameter of said member and to obviate the tendency of the beam to give down, buckle, or crack at the points where the tension-rod entersthe compression member.

In order to obtain the maximum of strength and stiffness with minimum of size (diameter of compression member) in a trussed brakebeam, a complete tubular form for the compression member is desirable and a welded tube preferable, so that if the beam be longitudinally slotted the narrower said slot or nearer the approximation to a complete circle or closed'tube the better will be the results. In a trussed beam, however, it is also desirable, in order to obtain the full results of the truss form of beam, that the ends of the ten- Fig. 3 is sion member should intersect the compression member within the brake-heads and on substantially the lines of 7 applied power or vertical center of the head, to accomplish which it is evident that unless an undesirably wide longitudinal slot or opening is left in the tube the tube must be-slotted at the points where the ends of the tension member enter it. Heretofore the typical hollow compression member has been the welded steel tube, and the slots for the passage of the tension-rod have been made by punching the same, preferably so as to leave inwardly-projecting tongues with their free ends toward the ends of the compression member, and thus to Weaken the structure as little as possible.

Owing to the difficulty of perfectly welding thick skelp the cost of the tubular compressionmember increases out of proportion to the increased thickness of the tubing used therefor, besides which the tube, if -punched, must be of low-carbon steel, and even then the punching blow, acting on the cold metal, induces a crystalline structure of "the metal at such points, which increases the liability of the compression member to crack and buckle at the points where the tensionrod enters.

In order to overcome the before-noted difficulties in the manufacture of and obtain an augmented strength and stiffness of a tubular trussed beam without materially increasing the proportions thereof, I form the compression member of the beam in the form of a longitudinally-slotted tube having its edges in apposition or juxtaposition except at the points where the tension-rod enters, whereby Iam enabled to utilize a high-grade-steel tube of increased thickness, and such a constructionembodies the main feature of my invention. 7

I There are other minor features of invention, all as will hereinafter more fully appear.

I will now proceed to describe my invention more fully, so that others skilled in the art to which it appertains may apply the same.

In the drawings, Fig. 5, A indicatesthe compression member, B the post or strut, C the tension member or tension-rod, and D one brake-head, of a hollow or tubular trussed brake-beam. With the exception of the compression member A the structure is of a character well known in the art and needs no extendeddescription. It willbe noted, however, on reference to Figs. 3, 4c, and 5 that while the said compression member is a longitudinally or open slotted tube the edges of the slot are in apposition throughout the length of the beam except at the points 2 2 and that the thickness of the metal is greater than is common to tubing of like diameter. In order to effect this without weakening the structure at the points 2 2, I produce the compression member of the beam in the following manner: I first take a blank A, having parallel sides a a and of the thickness required to produce a tube of the required strength and stiffness, said blank preferably of high-carbon steel, and when the same has been heated to a suitable temperature I roll or punch from the edges thereof, near the ends and at opposite points, metal in width equal to about half the diameter of the tension-rod C to form notches a, which will register when the blank is subseqnentlybent into tubular form, and I then bend the blank into tubular form, (preferably cylindrieah) bringing the notches a a into register and the continuous edges a into apposition, as indicated in Figs. 3 and ti of the drawings. The parts composing the trnssed beam, Fig. 5, may thereafter be assembled or set up in the usual manner.

13y hotpunching the blank to form the notches for the passage of the tension-rod a tube of any required thickness may be obtained withoutinducing a crystalline stricture in the compression member where the tension-rod enters, and consequently without loss of strength as compared with the rest of the structure, and at the same time a high-carbon steel can be utilized, which greatly enhances the strength, stiffness, and resiliency of the beam.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a trusscd brake-beam the combination with a post or strut and tension-rod, of a longitudinally-slotted tubular compression member having the slot edges in apposition except at the points where the tension-rod enters the compression member; substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a trnssed brake-beam, having a strut or post and a tension-rod, the combination therewith of a high-carbon longitudinallyslotted tubular compression member, the slot edges thereof in apposition except where the tension-rod enters the compression member; substantially as and for the purposes specifled.

3. A blank for making the compression members of trussed brake-beams, said blank having parallel sides provided with notches at opposite points and adjacent to its ends, whereby the notches thereof: will register to form slots when the parallel edges of the blank are brought in apposition; substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 20th day of July, 1896.

HENRY l3. RODISCIIUNG.

Witnesses:

E. B. LEIGH, E. T. XVALKER. 

